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Nixa to finally break ground on massive solar farm as sun power grows in Missouri

After years of delays and a change in developers, construction has begun on what will be the largest solar farm in Missouri.

In a news release, Nixa said a groundbreaking ceremony for the 72-acre project would be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at 1565 W. Mt. Vernon St.

The project, which includes 33,288 solar panels, is led by Gardner Capital of Springfield working with Nixa, Nixa Utilities and MC Power Companies of Independence, the release said. Nixa has agreed to buy 100 percent of the power generated by the farm.

The plant is expected to meet about 9 percent of Nixa's yearly power demand while reducing the city's carbon footprint.

Also, the city says, the agreement will save Nixa about $2.5 million over the life of the 25-year contract compared to the bill for buying power from City Utilities and the Southwestern Power Administration.

In an email, Nixa Public Works Director Doug Colvin said the project began when state Sen. Jay Wasson, who owns land on which the farm will be built, reached out to city officials to introduce David Bunge of Solexus, who approached Wasson in 2013.

"Talks continued and after a long due diligence period" the Nixa City Council agreed in June 2015 to buy power from Bunge's new farm, Colvin said.

"At that time, it was expected that power from the new facility would be flowing to Nixa by the end of that year," Colvin said. "Several issues held up progress on the part of the developer. Funding concerns, state and county tax issues, permitting, easements, etc. all played a part in delays for the construction."

At some point, "Gardner Capital became the main financial partner for the project," Colvin said, and while the contract Nixa negotiated with Solexus remained in place, Gardner "basically started over from the beginning."

Jon Miller, director of solar investments with Gardner, said Gardner bought the rights to the project from Cypress Creek Renewables, which Bunge now lists as his employer on LinkedIn.

"We are now the sole developers, and we'll be the long-term owner of the project," Miller told the News-Leader.

Wasson still owns the land, Miller said. "He's been supportive of it, and it really couldn't be done without him."

Miller said the Nixa solar farm will be up and running by December and will be able to power 1,800 homes.

Bunge hesitated to comment about why and when he sold the rights to the project without checking with Gardner first but said his decision to sell was not impacted by the delays. He added that the project was better off with Gardner because it was a local company (Bunge works in the St. Louis area).

"It's a great project," he said. "I'm thrilled to have been involved in it."